Chapter 16: New World

A day after the space station was attacked, Nautilus was on the move. Our destination was an idled chemical waste remediation facility located at an old ocean shipping terminal near the former city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. We were currently slightly over four hundred kilometers away from that terminal but were galloping along at well over twenty-eight knots. When I say galloping, I mean literally that. At this high speed, Nautilus would sometimes porpoise slightly which required constant small inputs to our stern planes to counteract the motion.

Naomi offered to slow our forward speed and smooth out the ride, but I decided to just tough it out. After an hour I did ask if she could produce something like Dramamine to help with the queasiness. Instead, she did something with my brain implant and much of the nausea went away. I also found that if I kept busy, I did not notice the constant small motion as much either. So, to work I went.

Naomi had the fabrication equipment in the workshop running at full speed. The fume extraction machinery was having a hard time with the heavy workload and the air was filled with the smell of chemicals, circuitry solvents, welding vapors, and other noxious activities. I was instructed to wear my respirator for the time being until we could properly ventilate the boat.

She was fabricating the processor blocks and data storage modules for a new A.I. presence. This presence would be going up to space and would be installed into the orbital station. The function of the presence would be similar to that once performed by the master A.I. meaning that it would have final authority over all other A.I.s active in the system. Even the presence left here on the submarine would be subservient to the new one we were busy creating.

Ohmu and I were busy doing final assembly on the freshly fabricated components and running tests and diagnostics. Once the equipment was proven to be fully functional, it was stacked on the workbench in neat rows by type. The pile was growing to a formidable number of devices and modules.

When production of the processor blocks and data storage modules was complete, Naomi switched to fabricating a strong but lightweight titanium chassis within which to house them. This was a well-braced octagonal shaped box over two meters long by a meter across. The processor blocks would fill the center and the data modules would occupy all eight outer faces surrounding it.

Once all were installed, connected, and fully tested, Ohmu began affixing gasketed titanium panels to the outer surfaces of the octagon. The entire interior volume of the chassis surrounding the blocks and modules would be flooded with a dielectric coolant and the case needed to withstand exposure to vacuum while keeping the coolant under pressure.

Finally, Ohmu and I helped a mobile unit retrieve one of Naomi’s backup power ESUs from the boat’s data vault on the lower deck. Getting that ESU out of the tight vault without damaging any of Naomi’s active processors was very tricky. We had to install a temporary bridge beam to hoist and suspend the ESU above the processor blocks and then slowly winch it out of the vault.

I suspected the A.I. was nervous during the entire procedure. Or ... whatever the equivalent machine analog was to that human emotion. She did not exactly beg me to be extremely careful, but I certainly got that impression when she mentioned either Ohmu or the processor in Habu would ‘probably’ be able to keep Nautilus operating in case of a mishap during the move. I fully realized how delicate the procedure was and assured Naomi that everything would be okay.

I was proven correct when we managed to move the ESU without lobotomizing Naomi and soon had it waiting on the floor of the workshop beside the octagonal orbital processor. That was Naomi’s term for it. I called it the ‘space brain’. Ohmu just kept her mouth shut on the subject and continued to connect thick bundles of data fibers leading from the ship’s data vault to this new processor.

Once that was finished, Naomi began copying her presence and a large amount of other data to the new unit. I learned that although the new extremely compact processor did not quite match the overall capacity of her processor in the data vault, it still came very close. Once it was in space and joined to the data modules the master A.I. had utilized, it would dwarf the ship’s current capacity.

It was now after midnight. Nautilus would soon be slowing as we approached the coast in four hours. Then, at a reduced speed, she would begin heading up a bay and into a narrower channel leading to the former city’s shipping terminal. This final part of our journey would likely take another three hours and it would be well after dawn before we arrived at the former A.I. base.

I went and took a quick shower and tried to scrub off much of the chemical odor before hitting my bunk. I was thankful that the fume levels in this part of the submarine were low enough that I could forgo the respirator and sleep normally.

The next morning, I woke at 7:30. I noticed right away that the air smelled fresher than it had last night. This meant that we must now be running on the surface and ventilating. I learned Ohmu was already moving gear onto the deck and preparing for our departure. I got up quickly, took care of my morning needs in the head, dressed, and ate breakfast. I could hear Ohmu occasionally working away in the workroom. When I was done with my meal I went to assist her.

The first thing I noticed was the daylight streaming into the workroom from the open hatch leading to the starboard sponson. There was also a noticeable movement of air through the room coming from the aft chambers and heading towards that sponson. The deck hatches were clearly open and the circulation fans operating. I checked with Ohmu and she said she would not need my help for at least fifteen minutes so I told her I would be topside.

Up in the starboard sponson, I found both hatches open leading to the airlock. This was so unlike our normal operating procedures. I looked around noting that the sponson and airlock chamber sure looked different in the bright sunlight. I also saw that the bio-drone storage crèches all showed green. I wondered if we would need to use the stored bio-drones ever again. The upper deck hatch was open, and I could see blue skies above. I made my way topside.

What a view! The boat was making its way slowly up the one-kilometer-wide channel at only a few knots. The green mangroves on each bank were lush and solid. Flying birds filled the air as I stood amazed at the sight of our boat cruising in daylight without the worry of discovery. The river waters in our wake were green and brown where they had been disturbed by our propulsor. The humid air was ripe with the smell of the mangroves and the rich churned littoral waters.

After I finished taking in the scenery I noticed that Habu had been brought up on deck and parked. The aircraft was standing much higher on four new eighty-centimeter-high landing leg extensions. Behind Habu, Nautilus’s photonics mast was also raised, and its dish antenna fully deployed and tracking some satellite in space. Naomi was clearly in near-constant contact with all the remaining A.I.’s via the orbital network.

Towards the front of the boat, I saw that the hanger hull was retracted in its lower position but the front deck hatches which covered that hull’s well area were still open. Ohmu must be about to use that hull to get the ‘space brain’ up onto the deck for attachment to Habu. I went back below to see if I could help.

“Is it safe leaving all the hatches open?” I asked after I had returned to the workroom.

“Our slow current speed, the calm waters of the sound after passing Puná Island, and the favorable weather conditions make it a good time to ‘air out the boat’ so to speak. The risk of flooding is minimal.”

“No radiation worries?”

“No. Fortunately, due to the steady seasonal winds in that area, the fallout from Baltra island has continued to blow off to the northwest over the open ocean,” she answered.

Ohmu had installed a trolley rail just under the ceiling of the workshop that extended through the connecting hatch leading into the front hangar hull. I saw that the space brain had been joined to the ESU we had retrieved last night and now formed a long cylindrical assembly over three meters long and over a meter in diameter. I helped her connect the assembly to a pair of chain hoists hanging from the trolleys.

The long heavy cylinder was mostly featureless. I did see a pair of flickering tell-tales. That was all there was to indicate that Naomi’s new presence was inside and operating.

“Hello? Are you in there?” I said as I smacked the titanium casing three times with my open palm.

—Is someone out there? Help me! I am trapped in this box in the dark! Get me out! Please!.—

I stepped back quickly. Ohmu was facing the other way and beginning to run the winches. I was about to say something when I saw the flicker of a smile on her face.

“Fuckers! Not funny,” I said.

Soon we had lifted and maneuvered the bulky and heavy device up through the narrow tunnel leading into the hangar hull. There, one of the articulated aircraft deployment arms was used to bring the module the rest of the way into the forward hull. We then disassembled the trolley rail from the connection tunnel and sealed the hatch. Ohmu was going to ride the hangar hull up to the flight deck while I decided to use the sponson ladder and deck hatch as it was much faster.

Ohmu and the space brain assembly soon joined me on the flight deck. It was still amazing to be doing this work out in the open in broad daylight and I stood gawking for a minute taking it all in. Finally, I moved to help secure the processor assembly below Habu after the deployment arm had positioned it properly underneath the aircraft. Instead of tethers or straps, we secured the module below Habu with sturdy metal bands which Naomi had constructed just for this task. Apparently, she was protective of her new advanced presence and physical housing.

“When do we leave?” I asked.

“Just before noon, John. This will give me plenty of time once we arrive at Cajamarca to assist in installing the processor assembly aboard the cargo vehicle waiting there before it launches later tonight.”

Cajamarca was a location in northern Peru where the enemy A.I. had operated another orbital launch facility. It was around 550 kilometers south and a bit east from our current location as the crows flew and the flight there would take less than two hours. There was actually another launch facility closer to our current location just a hundred kilometers to the east but that facility’s cargo rocket would not be ready to launch for another week.

Besides, the Cajamarca launch facility was on the way to my ultimate destination. After we arrived there and got Ohmu and the space brain assembly unloaded, I would be taking Habu by myself and heading off on a short vacation to a riverside location near Esperanza, Peru.

I had most of the gear I would need on my trip already packed and ready to go so I decided to remain topside for a bit longer. I stripped off my shirt and lay on the warm flat flight deck. Our location near the equator meant that the late morning sun was almost directly overhead. Ohmu must have been caught up on her duties as she appeared and sat on the deck beside me.

The sun felt great as it soaked into my skin. The A.I.s would probably be able to reduce the vitamin D they had been adding to my food to counter my ‘sun avoidance’ lifestyle I had been forced to maintain since my latest revival. As I lay there basking in the warmth, my mind relived the recent events we had accomplished.

“I still can’t believe we pulled it off, Ohmu.” The emotional release was still ongoing, and I felt tears begin to form.

Ohmu put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “We did it, John. You can put those fears and worries behind you.”

Two hours later we were cruising above the Andes Mountains heading southeast. We had left Nautilus behind just as it was approaching its anchoring point off the former city of Guayaquil. After a quick overflight of the mostly abandoned remediation base, we turned south and accelerated the black aircraft. Habu soon was at its cruising altitude of 11,000 meters which was well above the tallest mountains.

The launch facility at Cajamarca was just ahead and we began to slow and descend. The skies here were partly cloudy, and we punched through a few clouds on our way down. Fourteen kilometers north of our destination, Ohmu pointed out one of the justifications for constructing the launch facility here. It was the enormous scars and pits carved into the mountains from what had once been the fourth largest gold mine on the planet.

We circled lower and I noted the active mining machines. Ohmu said that by using advanced technologies, the current production levels were higher than the millions of ounces per year the mine had withdrawn from the Earth during its peak production years ‘back when’. She had said that mining operations here would soon begin to slow and return once again to reclamation because the demand for the ore had dropped with our successful takeover of the A.I. in space.

There were other mines in the area which were also still active. Copper, silver, lead, molybdenum, and other metals were produced nearby at mine sites spread throughout the northern end of Peru. All the refined metals were shipped to the launch facility just ahead. All this would be slowing dramatically in the coming months and years unless Naomi found a reason to continue current mining activities.

The launch facility was located in a broad valley. It was slightly smaller than the one which had existed on Baltra Island, but the layout was similar. Instead of a long causeway leading to a launch pad over the ocean, this facility had a nearby launch area over a massive flame diverter trench system. We set Habu down near the end of the massive assembly building by the large doors and service way which led to the launch pad. I sealed my respirator as there were short-lived radioactive particles in the air here.

I carefully climbed out of the higher-than-normal aircraft and noted that a large crane unit was already approaching. Ohmu crawled out of her front compartment and also exited the cockpit. The little show-off just jumped the extra height to the ground. We decoupled the space brain and then stood back as Habu took off to fly a short distance away from the processor unit. The crane unit then carefully picked up the processor and proceeded to carry it into the assembly building.

Inside we found the launch vehicle still unstacked. The crane with our processor was rolling towards the cargo module area which was a hundred meters deeper into the building. It had already been prepared for our cargo with its hatch open and a long ramp installed. I left Ohmu there to oversee the installation of the precious cargo and walked back outdoors to take a leak.

The weather here was dryer and cooler due to the elevation. It looked like a beautiful place to live and reminded me of many places I had seen in Colorado and New Mexico. I was about to signal Ohmu to let her know I was going to leave when she exited the building and approached. I was leaving without her as she would be riding the rocket to the space station in order to assist in connecting the new Naomi presence directly to the remains of the master A.I.

She held out her hand. Instead of taking it, I stepped forward and embraced her short little body in a hug.

“You stay safe up there and come back soon,” I said getting emotional.

She squeezed me back with a bit of force and said, “I will. You also remain safe. Remember, I am with you always.”

We broke apart and I stood there a bit awkwardly. I hated goodbyes.

“I set Habu to producing a late lunch for you, John. It should be ready as you take off. Please keep out of trouble and good luck with your reunion,” she said as she turned and reentered the building.

I was back in the cockpit and in the air in minutes. The replicator unit dinged, and I opened it to find a large steaming hotdog covered with all the fixings. The beverage cooler unit below the seat added a bottle of generic cola (astoundingly the A.I.’s had no formula for a decent tasting Coke) to my meal and I ate quickly while Habu climbed and headed off to the southeast. Without the bulky module below us we ... no ‘I’, I realized as Ohmu was not along, could accelerate Habu to a much higher speed.

Esperanza on the Purus River was a bit over nine hundred kilometers to the east-southeast from Cajamarca. At my faster speed, I would be there by 18:00 tonight. This would give me about an hour before full darkness to set up a campsite. I was not worried about that though, as Habu’s seat reclined and would make a good emergency bunk if need be. Hell, with her unlimited power, I could just set her on autopilot to fly around in circles all night if I needed to while I slept.

I was nervous as the aircraft traveled out of the Andes range and began to fly over the deep green Amazon rainforest of eastern Peru. I recalled the last time I had flown over a similar jungle. It had been over three hundred and twenty-eight years ago in actual years since Ana’s rescue mission. I was not sure how long it had been for me subjectively ... six months? Closer to a year? With all that had happened, it seemed like more than a year but as it did not matter, I did not bother to verify the exact time with Habu’s presence.

Why was I nervous? Well, I was about to meet someone I had never met. My daughter.

“Habu, Is Abby’s crèche revival proceeding normally?” I asked.

“Yes, all is proceeding as expected. The last update received was twenty-three minutes ago. The medical crèche will be finished with the bio-suspension revival process at 9:22 tomorrow morning,” the more machine-like voice of Habu answered.

I missed Ohmu already. I had wanted to arrive well before Abby was fully revived as I wanted to be there when the crèche opened. I checked the map function and saw that we still had an hour to go. I tried to relax and take a short nap as I had had a long day in the saddle already. As nervous as I was I expected my nap attempt to fail so I was surprised when Habu awoke me to report that it was now descending to land.